Through All Odds
by xforeverquotex
Summary: This story spans through parts of ME3 and focuses on a relationship between Zaeed and femshep. They met under strange circumstance, and never had a normal relationship, but could whatever they have lead to something more?
1. The Beginning

Adele would never forget the day. It was forever etched in her brain. She was only 17 and her world was going to hell. _Gunshots rang out rapidly all over the colony. Screams pierced her ear drums and the mixed stench of blood and death was toxic in the air. She ran through the woods that surrounded the back of the colony, angry batarians shouting and chasing after her._

S_he ran as fast as she could. There was nothing else that she could do. There was no weapon that she could wield, nor a way to call for help. She ran with tears stinging her eyes as the picture of her murdered parents was playing over and over again in her mind. She had to survive. It was the only option. A clearing came into view up ahead; she was running out of places to run. She made her way into the clearing when a hand grabbed her by the hair and lifted her into the air. _

_"Well look what we have here," one of the bartarians snarled. "A little brown haired Barbie." The bartarians mocked with laughter. Adele was sure her head was going to fall off soon. _

_"We'll take our time with her," the other one said as he fiercely grabbed her face, planting a bruising kiss on her lips as she was still being held in the air. Adele didn't even have time to process the kiss when a nearby shot rang out and blood splattered her face. The bartarians that had just kissed her was now only had a body without a head. The other bartarians raised their weapons too slow, and they were all taken out by three more sniper shots. The last bartarian to fall was the one holding her by her hair. Once she topple to the ground, he hands landed in bartarian blood. Her breath came faster, and she crawled backwards away from the mess. He hit the trunk of a small tree in the clearing and stopped to stare at the bodies on the ground. Her eyes were only torn away when a voice started talking to her._

_"Hey. Girl. You alright?" A gruff young man said standing over her said as he secured his sniper to his back. He couldn't have been more than 24 years old. Adele composed herself as she futilely wiped at her face. _

_"I'm fine," Adele said, her voice raspy and broken from crying. _

_"Well you sure look like hell. But If it wasn't for you, I would've never caught that bastard." the man said. "Got a name butterfly?" The man said, walking forward, becoming to her to follow. _

_"The name is Adele, not butterfly." Adele said. Zaeed pulled her behind a tool shed while looking out of cover to scan for bartarians. _

_"The name is Zaeed, I'm a bounty hunter. How did you run so fast?You ran so fast I could've sworn you were flying sweetheart. And your bright blue eyes remind me of the bright colors on the wings of a butterfly." Zaeed continued. He started to walk past the back of a house and didn't see a bartarian emerging from the back door of the house. Adele stepped forward, ripping Zaeed'd pistol from his side, and shot the bartarian right in the center of his head. _

_"Nice bloody shot!" Zaeed said. "You'll need to tell me where you learned to shoot like that once we get to the skycar." He finished. _

_"We need to save these people, we have to get help for the colony!" Adele exclaimed, waving the pistol around. Zaeed stepped forward and placed his hand on hers, lowering both her hand and the barrel of the gun pointing to the ground. _

_"There's no one left, they've all been taken." Zaeed said roughly._

_"But..." Adele started, not believing that her whole colony was either dead or gone._

_"It's the bloody truth butterfly, and unless you want to be sold as a slave, I suggest we get our asses to the skycar." Zaeed said, grabbing the gun out of her hand and leading her towards a distant skycar hidden in the shade . Adele sat eerily quiet, not hearing the words that came out of Zaeed's mouth as he talked. _

Adele sat at the bar nursing a scotch. Mindoir still haunted her even though it had been years since the bartarian raid. Never could she get the young bounty hunter's face out of her head. Tomorrow her squad and her would be heading out to Akzuze to investigate some suspicious readings. She downed the rest of her drink and headed out of the bar.


	2. Found You

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I know the beginning chapters are a little short a slow, but I'm just giving you the background of how Zaeed and femshep's relationship was very minimum at first. I'm just trying to reach a certain point in the story. So hopefully you bear with me, and also feel free to leave any comments you might have or anything that you would like to see in the story.**

Zaeed sat smoking his cigarette in the run down ally in afterlife. He had been chasing down his bounty for three hours before he actually nailed him. Zaeed stomped out his cigarette, and started walking down the adjoining strip.

"_Breaking news from Alliance headquarters, Commander Adele Shepard is now known as the 'Sole Survivor' from her last assignment on Akuze. A thresher maw attack wiped out her whole squad, and left her barely alive…" _The TV blared in a store Zaeed passed by. He glanced up to see a brown haired beauty with haunted eyes.

"Well I'll be damned," Zaeed said, staring at the familiar face. _She went to the Alliance. Haven't seen her since that bloody slaver attack… _Zaeed mused to himself. He had always regretted not tracking her down earlier. But he couldn't be sure it was the same girl that he rescued on Mindoir. With his business completed on Omega, he hopped into a transport and headed for the Citadel.

"Bloody transports always are always fucking awful," Zaeed muttered to himself. Automatically he started heading to the bar, to drown the frustrations from the idiots he had to deal with from day to day. He headed through back streets to avoid any prying eyes, only to see a slightly fumbling Commander Shepard. Zaeed could only assume that she was drunk off her ass from the way she violently swayed as she walked. She was heading towards him but didn't seem to see him. She finally swayed so violently to the left that she lost her footing. Zaeed shot out to grab her arm.

"Watch it," He chastised her. Adele didn't do anything but giggle and try to walk again. Zaeed rolled his eyes and instead grabbed the inebriated woman, slung her over his shoulder and made his way to a skycar.

**The Next Day:**

Adele woke up with her head pounding unbearably loud. She groaned at the pain, only to remember that nothing was worse than thresher maw acid. She buried her head back into the pillows on the bed before realizing that she had no idea where she was. She slowly sat up and tried to recall the night before. Nothing came to her mind. _Damn fucking ryncol_ Adele thought to herself. She was clothed in a man's sweatshirt and her spandex Alliance shirt and shorts that she wore under her usual fatigues. The sweatshirt smelled like smoke and whiskey. She slowly made her way out of the bedroom only to groan in pain at the light coming through the large windows of the apartment. She sat on the ground and pulled the hood of the sweatshirt over her head, and rested her head on her knees. She heard a gruff laugh sound from in front of her.

"I don't know who you are but I can still kill you….even in this sorry state," Adele weakly threatened.

"Still charming as always sweet heart aren't ya?" Zaeed mocked. Adele recognized the accent, but couldn't find the power to lift her head and check who it was.

"I think. I'm dying." Adele said, earning her another round of laughter from the man in front of her.

"Ah come on butterfly, can't hold your liquor?" Zaeed said before handing her a glass of water and aspirin. She quickly downed the medication before replying.

"That stuff is made for krogan. I would love to see your sorry ass drink three bottles of that crap!" She said before realization hit her. "What did you call me?" Adele asked, trying to muster the energy to lift her head.

"You heard me sweet heart. Good to see you're alive and kicking." Zaeed said before scooping her up off the floor. The movement made Adele groan and lean her head against Zaeed's chest.

"Shut shutters now." Zaeed commanded before all the shades in the room automatically started to fall over the bright windows. Once Adele could tell the room was dark through her eye lids, she opened her eyes to identify the man in front of her.

"You know, it's usually not good when you end up in a bounty hunter's apartment." Adele said.

"Are you scared?" Zaeed tried.

"Please. This is like walking through a field of flowers." Adele said. Zaeed placed her on the chair in front of the kitchen island. He approached the stove, grabbed a pan with eggs, and scooped a large amount onto a plate for her.

"Would you like to tell me why an accomplish Alliance officer almost drank herself to death last night?" Zaeed prodded. Adele stopped scarfing down the eggs and eyed him warily.

"You wouldn't get it," Adele said dismissively and he didn't push it. Instead he started putting on his yellow armor and gathering his guns.

"I'll see you around butterfly," Zaeed said smiling as he headed out the door of his apartment. He was still tingling from just seeing Adele wearing his clothes. _There's something about a girl wearing her man's clothes _Zaeed said to himself.

Adele sat at the table, confused at the rush of events. She pulled up her omni-tool. She still had another 24 hours before she would have to report to Alliance HQ. She dressed back into her fatigues that she found in the bathroom and folded up the sweatshirt that she had borrowed. She was about to place it on his bed, but something pulled inside of her. Adele took the sweatshirt, and headed out the door.


	3. There is Always Home

Adele was lost in thought about the past two days events. Zaeed saving her drunken ass, bringing her to his apartment, fed her, and then left. She wasn't about to let him reappear again in her life and then just as quickly walk out.

_To: Zaeed M._

_From: Adele S._

_Subject: Not One To Hang Around?_

_Didn't take you as the type of person who leaves a girl in your apartment._

_From: Zaeed M._

_To: Adele S._

_Subject: Apartment_

_Had a rushed request for a bounty. Paid big. And plus, practically everything in that apartment is stolen or bought with bloody, so by all means, steal what you want. Where you headed next butterfly?_

_To: Zaeed M._

_From: Adele S._

_Subject: N7 Training. _

_After my mission on Akuze they slapped a medal on my chest and called me a hero. I'm being sent through the N7 program due to my tough "physical and mental state." Fucking brass now gives awards for getting your whole squad killed. _

_From: Zaeed M._

_To: Adele S._

_Subject: Akuze_

_I heard the story. Last time a checked you don't control threwsher maws. Fucking giant worms._

_From: Adele S._

_To: Zaeed M._

_Subject: Giant Worms_

_I don't agree but I'm heading to the N7 facility now. Might be out of contact for a while. Don't become a damn ghost again Massani._

_To:Adele S._

_From: Zaeed M._

_Subject: You're the Boss_

_When did you become so bossy? Stay alive butterfly. _

Adele closed out of the email chat on her omni tool, grabbed her bag, and headed towards transport for the N7 training grounds.

**Three Months Later**

Adele walked out of the barracks with her belongings all in her bag. Shore leave never sounded better. She completed up through the N3 program, and was allowed a week of shore leave before having to report back to finish her training. As soon as she had stepped onto the facility a few months back, whispers started. _Lone Survivor. Almost A Slave Girl. _Groups whispered as she walked down the halls. She tried to ignore them, but their words fueled the anger inside of her. The very first day Adele made her presence known before the first drill even started.

_She walked into the locker room and started loading her stuff into a locker. _

"_Hey girl," A man said to her from beside her. She glared at him. "What's a pretty princess like you doing here? Hear you're an Alliance charity case and horror story, got you from Mindoir and you slaughtered your whole squad on Akuze," the man prodded, getting in her face. Adele kept loading her things into her locker. "I'm talking to you bitch," the man said before slamming her locker shut. She barely had enough time to yank her hand out of the way of he slamming locker. Her rage boiled up, but she didn't come her to fight with an asshole like this. She turned and started to walk away, using every ounce of self control she could, but a hand reached out to grab her. Before his hand could even touch her, Adele spun around twisting his arm until she heard a sickening pop and then brought her knee up into his groin. _

"_I'm a fucking survivor asshole, and it would suit you to learn respect and to treat people like human beings." Adele whispered into his ear, before letting him slide to the floor in pain. She finished putting her stuff away, suited up in her armor and headed out. She listened to instructors all day yell in every marine's face about how they completed the drill, but not only did she get yelled at, she got a nick name. _

"_What was the purpose of taking a different route than the rest of your team private?! That's how marine's get themselves, and others, killed!" The toughest instructor yelled in her face. _

"_I was trying to obtain a look out point so we could be more aware of what we were up against sir!" Adele replied back with. The drill instructor looked over from top to bottom._

"_Next time take a small team to scout out the area Barbie!" The instructor shouted. "Barbie." Adele wanted to smack herself in the face. Out of all the nicknames she could've gotten, and she got "Barbie." _

Jane walked towards the transport a little ways down the road, but a couple of people banged into her, looking for trouble.

"Sorry Barbie, did I break a nail?" One of them taunted. Adele picked herself up off the ground, only to be kicked by another one in the stomach, causing her to fall to her knees. A few more kicks to her face and the rest of her body took place before a gun shot fired off. Automatically the abuse stopped, and the group ran back to the base. _Cowards _Adele thought as she wiped at the blood dripping out of her mouth.

"What the bloody hell is their problem?" Zaeed's gruff voice rang out as he reattached his weapons to his back and went to help her up.

"Didn't make a great first impression on my comrades," Adele replied. It was starting to get colder as the sun went down, and her fatigues weren't helping much with warmth. Zaeed was carrying her bag as he walked next to her. "What are you doing here anyways?" Adele asked.

"We had an abrupt end to our short little reunion. I'm here to show you what your missing." Zaeed said, walking towards a landing zone with a skycar on it. The silence out near the landing pad was broken by a small sound. Zaeed looked at Shepard to find the sound was coming from her chattering teeth. He opened her bag to look for a jacket. He pulled out the only other item of clothing in the bag besides fatigues.

"I couldn't find this for the life of me." Zaeed said as he held the sweatshirt that Adele stole from his apartment. Adele started to blush as she tried to think of an excuse. "If you wanted more of me, all you had to do was ask butteryfly," Zaeed whispered, sending chills up Adele's spine. She played off the comment by punching him in the shoulder. Zaeed laughed and placed the sweatshirt over her head and waited for her to punch her arms through.

"Where are we going anyways?" Adele asked as she got in the skycar passenger seat.

"To the place you called home for a short while after Mindoir" Zaeed answered. The skycar took off, and Adele fell asleep with the comforting smell of Zaeed mixed into, what she now claimed as, _her_ sweatshirt.


End file.
